A strong wooden or metal stand or case that holds a ship's compass and keeps it protected and upright near the helm.
From Portuguese 'bitácola,' which comes from Latin 'habitaculum' meaning dwelling place; the term traveled through maritime trade in the 16th-17th centuries, referring to the structure that housed the compass.
The binnacle is why we say 'the compass points north'—this humble wooden box became the symbol of navigation itself, so important to ships that losing it meant losing your way in the world.
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